dairy-free

Ever since I started being more mindful of what I’m eating, I’ve been making loads of things from scratch, such as pesto and hummus. The main reason for me is that by making it myself, I know exactly what goes in it, and I get to adjust it to my nutritional and taste preferences.

Have you ever read the nutrition label at the back of your ketchup bottle? It is quite likely that your favourite ketchup is actually 1/3 part sugar! If you then continue reading the ingredient list, you’ll probably see high fructose corn syrup or something alike listed as the second or third ingredient, which means that it is the second or third most ingredient used. I’m not here to discuss the whole HFCS debate, but I do know that I don’t like to eat a lot of sugar, but if I do, I want it to be in the form of a delicious cookie, cake or muffin, and not in the form of an average-tasting, salty, red “tomato” sauce.

Chocolate cravings are real peeps! And that’s why I almost always make sure to have a couple of these chocolate truffles in my fridge or freezer. Even straight out of the freezer these are delicious, so these are perfect to make ahead for when that sudden chocolate craving hits you. You’ll only need three ingredients, put it all in a blender or food processor and then just roll them into balls. Easy peasy!

Oh my god guys, I just got my thesis grade back and I got an A-!!!!! I’m so happy!! I wrote my bachelor thesis on the KNMI NO2-sonde that I worked with during my internship there, and how to improve it etc. Very interesting, but I can imagine you guys don’t really care about that as you are probably here for the food 😉

This smoothie is actually an improved version of one of the first recipes I made for the blog. It has a little more spinach, and it is VEGAN! Yay for plant power 💚 Other than that, not much has changed, but there are better photo’s too!

These cookies are actually a slightly adjusted version of my Salted Peanut Butter Cookies. Both versions are vegan, gluten free and utterly delicious, but the main difference is that I’m using peanut butter powder here instead of actual peanut butter. As a result, these cookies are higher in protein, lower in fat and lower in calories.

Vegans are often accused of two things: they either get no protein at all, or they get all their protein from “artificial sources” such as protein drinks. Truth is, for me – and most of the vegans I’ve met – neither is the case! I love me some Mexican bean tacos, Indian lentil soup, and Middle-Eastern chickpeas. Since I’ve been tracking my protein intake with the app My Fitness Pal for quite a while now, I can confidently say that I get plenty of protein every single day, without drinking protein shakes like my life depends on it. Of course I eat the occasional protein bar, simply because I like them.

This Strawberry, Rhubarb and Rose Soup has actually evolved super naturally. I still had some fresh organic rhubarb laying around, and wanted to make a recipe with it that wasn’t what is typically done with rhubarb. I already once made a rhubarb strawberry lemonade that I absolutely love, so inspired by that I wanted to make another ‘drink’ that involved rhubarb. Obviously, this soup isn’t a ‘drink’, but I guess that if you would thin it down a little, you could definitely call this a smoothie as well.

A few weeks ago I was cleaning out my spice cabinet and came across a little jar of dried, edible, rose petals. I had bought them once to use as decoration for cupcakes but eventually never used them. I’ve always loved eating flowers, be it in restaurants or as a topping on a simple rice cracker, but apart from using flowers in drinks, cooking and developing recipes with them has always been a little bit outside of my comfort zone.

So, in order to step out of my comfort zone, I took a look at my favourite book, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible, to search for some ingredients that pair well with rose. Next week there is a recipe coming up that uses rose water and these pretty little candied rose petals. It is delicious and perfect for summer, so stay tuned!!

Ever since I started my research internship at the KNMI (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute), this salad has been part of my go-to lunch if I have the ingredients on hand. It is super simple to make with only 5 ingredients, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, and it is really tasty too! And it will even taste better if you let it sit for a while, so the flavors can really mix together.

I’m a huge granola fan (examples: coconut quinoa granola, the ultimate granola). It’s pretty healthy, crunchy, full of fiber and good carbs and a little sweet, so what’s not to love? However, sometimes I like to spice it up a bit (literally) and make a savory granola. This granola is perfectly crunchy and has quite some fire to it thanks to a generous amount of black pepper.

I'm Emma: student, foodie and blogger enthusiast. I live in the Netherlands, and I love everything food related. The kitchen is my happy place. I hope I can inspire you to live a healthy & happy life. Some of my favourite things include nature, dogs and seasonal fruit.
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